'The rats are taking over' New York City

According to Stringer, there has been a rise in the number of rat complaints in the city, and he blames the city's health department for not doing enough.

"I see them on my way home, they're standing upright, they say, 'Good morning, Mr. Comptroller.' They have no fear," Stringer said.

The city has seen approximately 3,000 more rat-related complaints since the beginning of this year than in the same time period in 2014. Some argue that the increase is due to the new 311 mobile app, which makes it easier to report these complaints, but Stringer rejected the notion.

"I'm a lifelong New Yorker and I've never seen it this bad," Stringer said. "The rats are taking over. They're on the subways, on the platforms, we've got 'pizza rat,' we've got rats everywhere you turn."